Green eyes rimmed with red glanced up at the former KND pilot through a curtain of blond hair. Tan fingers curled around a soda, clenching the metal so hard it dented.

"He had it coming." growled Wally, his voice rough and cracking. Hoagie shrugged and plopped down into the seat across from Wally, lowering his voice slightly so the patrons in the other booths couldn't hear him.

"That black eye's gonna take weeks to heal. And she's mad at you again."

"She usually is." grumbled Wally. His hands tightened around the can, and his green eyes glanced around the crowded pizza parlor, looking at anything but the teenager in front of him.

"What'd he do that was so bad?"

Wally glanced out the window at the rain-soaked landscape, his teeth grinding together.

"He doesn't give a fuck about Kuki."

"Prove it."

Baby blue eyes met emerald green. Wally crushed the can under his fingers, soda spilling out onto the table. Hoagie didn't shift his gaze, his arms resting calmly against the seat back.

"He does." said Hoagie calmly, his eyes full of sympathy. "And you're going to have to accept that someday."

"Why should I?" grumbled Wally, not caring that he sounded like a whiny toddler.

"Because," said Hoagie seriously. "If you really like Kuki as much as you say you do, you'll let her go – because he makes her happy and he treats her well. And that's what's important right?"

"Why can't she be happy with me?" whispered Wally, his mental walls, built to keep out pain, to hide his feelings, collapsed.

Hoagie sighed sadly. He had never seen Wally so…broken.

"Maybe she will someday." shrugged Hoagie. "Who knows?"

"Really?" mumbled Wally. "She doesn't want anything to do with me."

"That's not true." said Hoagie firmly. "You're her best friend, Wally."

"I don't want to be friends!" said Wally loudly, earning several glares from the other patrons. He glared back, then lowered his voice. "Seven years Hoagie. Seven fucking years I've liked her."

"That doesn't give you the right to threaten the guys Kuki goes out with." said Hoagie sternly. "Do you wanna be friends with her or not?"

"…Yeah." sighed Wally eventually. "Better then nothing, right mate?"

"Exactly." nodded Hoagie, leaning back in his seat. "So what are you not going to do next time you see Ace?"

"Punch his fucking face in." grumbled Wally.

"Language." said Hoagie in a mock-stern tone. "You know how Kuki feels about swearing.

"I don't care what she thinks." growled Wally. Hoagie just grinned as he noted the lack of cussing.

Wally was so whipped he didn't even realize he was whipped.

"C'mon." said Hoagie as he pushed himself into a standing position. "Let's go to my house. We can play COD and eat mountains of ice-cream as we bemoan the loss of your one true love."

"That's what girls do." said Wally reluctantly as he rose from his seat. "I'm not a cruddy girl."

"Playing COD is very manly." insisted Hoagie as he and Wally walked towards the exit. "And ice-cream is always a good idea."

Wally shoved open the door, a harsh wind streaming past, as raindrops fell heavily from the sky.

"It's freezing mate." said Wally as he glared out into the rain soaked street. Hoagie shrugged as he gazed out at the scene, trying to judge the distance between the warmth of the soda shop and his car. He gasped in surprise, wondering to himself what Wally did to make the universe hate him as his gaze landed on Ace and Kuki laughing as they splashed through the puddles, apparently heading to the same soda shop Wally and Hoagie were about to vacate. Hoagie quickly switched his gaze over to Wally, and cursed when he realized Wally had seen them too.

Hoagie held his breath as Wally ground his teeth and tightened his fists. He took a step forward, tensing, as Hoagie held his breath. The seconds slowly ticked past as the cheerful laughs of the couple reached the boys' ears through the storm. Finally, with a sigh of defeat, Wally unclenched his fists, and slumped over, his green eyes filled with pain.

"Y'know what Hoags?" said Wally as he turned his back on the happy couple "I think I want some ice cream after all."

Codename KND (c) Mr. Warburton

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